Inflaming tensions between Buddhists to distract from domestic crises

My Friend sent this good article:

The Myanmar government has declared that they have started the democratization of Myanmar. But the widespread discrimination of Myanmar citizens based on race and religion continues to be ignored or even actively encouraged by government authorities. The military government has a long history of inflaming tensions between Buddhists and Muslims to distract from domestic crises.

Many Muslims have been killed and many mosques have been destroyed in past ethnic riots in cities such as Taung Gyi, Pyay, Taung Goo, Kyauk Se and so on. Moreover, they have published books which provide false representations of Islam and used hateful language towards Islam and Muslims in state media outlets. As a result, many Buddhists today misunderstand Islam and Muslim Myanmars. A very recent happening has proved this. Our government has done it again. They might have masterminded brutal murders using their puppet extremists in RaKhine in an attempt to divert people’s attentions from critical problems such as the electricity crisis, the water crisis, the Myitsone dam crisis, extreme poverty and health problems in the country. Whoever is behind this crime must be brought before justice. Our country will never be a prosperous and developed nation with this sick mentality in it’s people. Many organisations and media have strongly condemned the massacre of 10 Muslims, including 8 pilgrims, at 3 p.m. on 3 June 2012, by an organized terrorist gang of Rakhines at Taunggote, in southern Arakan State. Taunggote is one of four townships that were defined as Muslim-Free Zones by government decree in 1983. Since then several hundreds of Arakanese Rohingyans (Rakhine Muslims), captured in these regions have been killed by Rakhines, with the involvement of government authorities. In this case, the victims were on their way from Tachan Pai Mosque to Than Dwe for Chila(Jama’at). Rakhine terrorists set upon them at a roadblock and massacred 8 Muslim pilgrims along with the driver and a caretaker. 5 Muslims managed to escape the carnage. The culprits were celebrated by spitting and tossing the wine and alcohol on the dead bodies lying on the road. The names of the 8 murdered pilgrims were: (1) Muhammed Sharief (a) U Ne Pwe (58) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 095548, (2)Muhammed Hanif (a) U Maung Ni (65) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 095530, (3) Shafield Bai (a) U Aye Lwin (52) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 094557, (4) Aslam Bai (a) U Aung Myint (50) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 094557, (5) Balai Bai (a) Tayzar Myint (28) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 189815, (6) Shuaib (a) Tin Maung Htwe (21) NRC No.8/Ta Ka Ta (N) 231084, (7) Salim Bai (a) Aung Bo Bo Kyaw (26) NRC No.14/Ma La Na (N) 231084, (8) Lukman Bai (a) Za Nyi Nyi Htut (33) NRC No.14/Ma La Na (N) 148133. The attack was sparked by an incident in May when three men, two of whom were allegedly Muslim, raped and murdered an Arakanese woman. But last year, one Myanmar Buddhist raped and murdered one Japanese lady on her visit to Myanmar and at that time all were silent. When The Voice journal posted pictures of the rally on Tuesday in Rangoon, online comments took a virulent Islamophobic turn as some users issued slurs and threats towards the country’s Muslim community on the publication’s Facebook page. “Feed them a pig’s d***,” commented one user on a photo posted on The Voice’s Facebook page. “We should either kill all the Kalars in Burma or banish them, otherwise Buddhism will cease to exist,” said another user. Gruesome photographs of the victims of the attack have also begun circulating on the web and have attracted their fair share of negative comments as well. “Kalar” is used to describe perceived outsiders within the country, especially individuals with dark skin, but the term often carries a pejorative tone. In the Myanmar edition of the New Light of Myanmar newspaper and Myanmar TV today, the victims of the sectarian attack were referred to as “Kalar” instead of Muslims. In recent months anti-Rohingya, (Rakhine Muslims) propaganda has been carried out by Rakhine extremists and xenophobes inside and outside of Myanmar harping on the old tune, “Rohingya is not a nationality in Myanmar, they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” with intent to exterminate them ultimately. Surprisingly, these organized efforts have been carried out in line with the recent statements of some ministers and authorities of the ruling government. Nevertheless, the rejection of Rohingya coupled with continued persecution and ‘Rakhine terrorism’ against them indicates a serious early warning sign of genocide in Rakhine State. The government is fully responsible for law and order situation in the whole country. It should not make the Muslims scapegoats. It has full responsibility to protect the rights, honour and dignity of all citizens. Meanwhile, we reiterate that Arakan is a diverse society with two major peoples of Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhines. We believe that ‘peaceful co-existence’ among all the peoples of Arakan and Burma is imperative for the restoration of democracy, promotion of human rights and perpetuation of peace and prosperity in the country. It is high time, for all compatriots, to actively pursue a policy of peace and reconciliation and work in unison for the future of the country and for generations to come. We demand that the ruling government of U Thein Sein immediately conduct an impartial, comprehensive investigation and take exemplary action against the culprits in the interest of peace and security in the region. The peaceful co-existence of Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and also in Rakhine state has been deliberately subverted by successive Myanmar rulers whether they are army or not. Ethnic minorities’ rights have been openly attacked in Myanmar for decades. We urge upon the international community including the UN, OIC, EU, ASEAN, the USA and other governments of the world, international human rights organisations and NGOs to put strong pressure on the ruling Myanmar government for the protection and security of life, property, dignity and the honour of Muslims and all minorities in Myanmar.

One Response to “Inflaming tensions between Buddhists to distract from domestic crises”

A lesson needed to be learned by the Rakhine Moghs after it lost its legendary Arakan kingdom that anarchy and hatred against others in society could also be self inflicting that it creates division within the society causing outsiders to interfere in its internal affairs. However, in the ever decaying Arakan, the Rakhine Mogh refuse to learn and the culture of anarchy continues. Now the Mogh Rakhines have turned their vigorous menace not against anybody from outside but against the local minorities, particularly against the Muslim population of Arakan known as the Rohingyas, thus the cycle of Rohingya suffering continues. With the culture of anarchy growing to its climax, in 1942 there was a huge bloodbath of Rohingyas in all over Arakan. To the Rohingyas it is still remembered as the Karbalae Arakan (the doomsday in Arakan). Ever since, there has been more organized efforts in 1978, 1992-93 to commit massacre on the Rohingyas of Arakan resulting in the displacement of the Rohingya population all over the world.

Alarmed by this continued lawlessness and the hoodlum’s growing massacres and threat, Rohingya leaders have been reminding the world community that there has been a systematic Rohingya genocide going on in Arakan. The genocide began in a large scale from the 30’s when the name “Rakhine” was first officially coined. This radical nationalist movement was inspired by the Rakhine xenophobic leaders ( surprisingly some are even leading Rakhine Buddhist priests) propagating that Rohingyas are foreigners in Arakan. In reality however, Rohingyas have been in Arakan from the 7th century, long before the arrival of the Rakhines. History records that, Mogh Rakhines, a Tibeto- Burman group arrived in Arakan only during the 11th century by defeating the Indian king of the Chandras.

During the 1942 riot between the Rakhine Moghs and the Rohingyas, over a 100,00 Rohingya were killed and more people fled Arakan to take shelter in Southern Chittagong. This trend continues till today. It is shocking that in this present massacre, neither the president of Burma nor Aung San Su Kyi made a statement condemning the brutal murder of these people traveling by bus. Mogh Rakhines are only 5% of the Burmese population. We wonder why some of the prominent citizens of Burma are silent on this issue!

In this alarming situation, Rohingyas in large numbers take shelter in Bangladesh. We also have report that to escape from the Burmese government’s actions against many of the Rakhine terrorist hoodlums, the culprits cross over to Bangladesh territory and find safe heaven in Bangladesh. Unfortunately instead of such terrorists to be identified and handed over to the Burmese government, Hasina’s anti Muslim AL government advisers one being Sajb Wajed find the suffering Rohingyas as the terrorists.

It seems that there must be something wrong in the politically motivated global human rights movements. Thus, like many other suffering minorities, Rohingya suffering in Arakan continues in murder, rape, forced labor and in outside the country, Rohingyas as the boat people dies of hunger in the Bay or them in distant countries seeking a shelter refused. In all these, their suffering is growing to a new height.

No doubt, it has to be stopped at the source by the Burmese people with government help through finding the culprits who had committed the Rohingya murders in the broad day light and finding those people who are behind them provoking the hoodlums to attack the innocent Burmese Rohingya people traveling within Burma- their place of birth. In Burma’s failure, the 1942 massacre will continue to revisit Burma. To us the humanity, and to the Rohingyas in particular “Each man’s death diminishes me,.. Therefore, don’t send… to know, for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.”